Chapter 2

…Fufu—ahaha! Even just thinking about it, everything my senpais said was so funny.

They said they wanted to talk about my personalized outfit, but they just told us stories like when Anzu-san was suddenly brought up on stage.¹

Or when Tsukinaga-senpai and Itsuki-senpai got so worked up over something else that they forgot about the outfit and ended up fighting.²

Somehow all of these stories were so intense. I guess Yuuta-kun and I coming up with the same outfit at first was like, no sweat in the grand scheme of things—

…Oh, we’ll need to plant different bulbs around there, sooooo that’s enough for right now!

Got it~ You’ve gotten pretty into tending your garden, Hinata-kun. You don’t just have vegetables here either, but also flowers like these.

You’ve been helping me out since last summer, huh? Plowing and planting and harvesting and stuff… ♪

You bet. I’m way more of an indoorsy person, but I’ve noticed that it’s calming to play in the dirt sometimes ♪

By the way, I heard you talking just now about personalized outfits… But you didn’t bring the most important one—yours—up at all. Did those two never give you any advice?

Umm~…I guess you could say they did? Or maybe they didn’t?

There was something about “the art you use to express yourself fully becomes a melody,” and “if you go with your instincts, the universe expands beyond just singing and dancing.”

But I’m not actually sure whether they were talking about my costume or not…

Ahaha… But you know, Hinata-kun, the fact that you even listened to them is what makes you pretty great.

If it were me, I probably would have turned them down. I’m not really that close with either of them… and they kinda intimidate me.

To be honest, I was seriously thinking like, “why me?” the whole time. Maybe it was because we’re not all that close that they really just wanted to get to know me as a kouhai.

But y’know, I’m always ready to jump head first into things that sound fun or interesting.

If there’s something fun waiting for me out there, I don’t wanna miss out on experiencing that kinda happiness~!

They didn’t give me any real advice, but I’m happy I got to have a good time with such amazing senpais, and Anzu-san too.

…I’m glad. That’s a good way of looking at it. It’s very like you, Hinata-kun.

What can I say? I guess I just love a good time.

I’d like to express all the fun and excitement I feel when I’m on stage in my personalized outfit, too.

It’d be a huge plus if it could be something that gets our fans just as hype as me… ♪

(I messaged Anzu-san, and she told me she was in the dressing room…)

Hello~…?

Anzu-san, how are you! Here, take this—It’s the pastry I grabbed when I talked to you earlier… And my choice of drinks.

The cost? You don’t need to pay for it, I got it ‘cause I wanted to. I sent it in a text, right? I wanted to get you something.

After all, you’re making personalized outfits for both me and Yuuta-kun right now. Let me do at least this much for you ♪

C’mon, take it. It’s my way of showing appreciation for our producer.

…Hey, are those our outfits right there? Can I get a closer look?

They were just sketches in a book a little while ago, so it’s exciting to see them come to life like this…

I was thinking this back when I saw the designs too, but it’s pretty weird how our costumes are so different now.

It’s a piece of cake to tell whose is whose just by looking.

A lot of people say they can’t tell us apart when we’re standing side by side—

But there’s a world of difference in how our personalities and dreams have taken shape… Is what it feels like as soon as you see them.

…Wawah? Don’t grab onto me so suddenly, it surprised me. Whatcha want~?

You say it’s still in works, but you want to see how my costume looks?

Uwah~ For some reason I’m kinda nervous. How does it look? Do you think I nailed it?

(Anzu-san is smiling. I think we made her worried at first, but I’m glad she’s enjoying herself as she makes our costumes.)

(I can’t wait to put on the final product. I wonder how we’ll feel seeing each other in our personalized outfits.)

……

…Nn~ I just had a thought. 2wink was planning on showing these off in a live together.

But when we get up on stage, Yuuta-kun and I will be wearing totally different outfits.

Obviously we’ve done that before, like for Toyland and stuff, but it feels like it’ll be a special moment to perform in our personalized outfits, like as ourselves instead of as one.

We don’t get to do that much, so I wanna make it a performance that’ll leave an impact…

I haven’t said anything to the VP yet, but I want the set and production to be a particular way. There’s actually something I was thinking about doing for the live, kinda like this—

Do you mind if I talk about it a bit, Anzu-san? I want you to hear it, since you’re the one who’s currently making our individuality take shape… ♪